NCAA water polo tournament: Air Force taking on St. Francis in 3rd place game

Air Force will be taking on St. Francis for third place at the 2012 NCAA water polo tournament.

NCAA water polo tournament: Air Force falls to USC, 18-7

Air Force was able to hang around with USC for just over a quarter, but the Trojans were just too much.

NCAA tournament: Air Force takes on top seeded USC

Air Force is in their first NCAA water polo tournament since 1994, and have a stiff challenge in their first game which is against USC.

NCAA water polo tournament: Air Force earns No. 4 seed, faces top seeded USC

Air Force earned the No. 4 seed at this weekends NCAA water polo tournament.

Air Force's Jeff Heidmous named WWPA coach of the year

It is no surprise that Jeff Heidmous was named the coach of the year for the WWPA.

Air Force wins WWPA, qualifies for NCAA tournament

Air Force defeated top-seeded UC San Diego in the WWPA finals to earn their first NCAA tournament berth since 1994.

WWPA Championship game: Air Force takes on top-seeded UC San Diego

If Air Force can win Sunday afternoon then they will be going to their first NCAA Tournament since the field reduced to four teams.

Air Force defeats Loyola Marymount, 10-9, advances to WWPA title game

The Air Force Falcons defeated LMU and are now one game away from winning their third-ever WWPA conference title.

WWPA Tournament: Air Force takes on LMU in semifinals

Air Force is in the semifinals of the WWPA tournament on Saturday afternoon.

WWPA conference tournament: Air Force defeats Claremont, 14-6

Air Force easily defeated Claremont to advance to the semifinals of the WWPA championships.

2012 WWPA championships: Bracket, schedule, streaming

The Air Force water polo team is a three seed at the WWPA championships. The tournament is being hosted by Whittier College from Nov. 16 - 18.

Air Force lands 4 players on WWPA all-conference team

Air Force landed four players on the WWPA all-conference teams.

NCAA water polo results: Air Force loses to UC-San Diego, 10-9

Air Force was unable to pull of an upset over No. 11 ranked UC Davis,

Air Force faces UC San Diego in a key WWPA match

Air Force goes on the road in a big WWPA match as they face UC San Diego on Thursday night at 7 p.m. MT, and can be seen free online through UCSD's website.

Attacker Brad Rajchel wins WWPA player of the week

Air Force co-captain Brad Rajchel became the third Air Force player to be named the WWPA player of the week.

NCAA water polo rankings, Week 7: Air Force still at No. 13

Air Force remained at No. 13 in the Week 7 CWPA poll.

No. 13 Air Force defeat No. 17 UC Davis, 15-11

Air Force improved to 2-0 at home after defeating UC Davis, 15-11 Saturday afternoon.

No. 13 Air Force hosts No. 17 UC Davis in key WWPA match

No. 13 ranked Air Force hosts their second game of the season, they are taking on No. 17 UC Davis at 1 p.m.

NCAA water polo rankings, Week 6: Air Force remains at No. 13

There was virtually no movement in the Week 6 CWPA poll. Air Force however did gain a few more votes.

Air Force defeats Santa Clara in home opener, 14-9

In their 2012 home opener, Air Force easily took care of Santa Clara by a score of 14-9.

No. 13 Air Force hosts No. 18 Santa Clara in home opener

Air Force finally gets to play their home opener, and on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT they will have No. 18 Santa Clara

WWPA standings: Air Force sitting in fourth place

The WWPA season is underway and Air Force is sitting in fourth place, but they are in the thick of the regular season race.

NCAA water polo rankings: Air Force climbs to No. 13

Air Force moved up one spot to No. 13 in the latest CWPA polls.

SoCal Tournament: Air Force falls to UC San Diego 9-3, finish 12th

The SoCal Tournament went better than expected for the No. 14 ranked Air Force Falcons, they were able to pull off an upset over No. 12 ranked UC Davis. That win allowed Air Force to finish between eighth and 12th place, and while they finished 12th, the tournament was still a success.

The final game of the tournament saw Air Force stumble against conference mate UC San Diego 9-3. Air Force just had a bad first quarter where they fell into a 4-1, and then trailed 6-1 at the half. That deficit was one that the Falcons could not recover from.

The three players who scored against UC San Diego were Brad Rajchel, Alex Arcidiacono and Dillon Fisher. Goalie Mike Fish had a very good game by registering 13 saves.

No. 11 UC San Diego 9, No. 14 Air Force 3
Air Force - 1 0 1 1 - 3
UCSD - 4 2 2 1 - 9
AF Scoring: Rajchel, Arcidiacono, Fisher
UCSD Scoring: Stiling 3, Donohue 3, Butler, Michalko, Higginson

SoCal Tournament: Air Force no match for Long Beach State, lose 13-7

With the Air Force Falcons upsetting UC Davis on Saturday night, that put them in the 8th to 12th place bracket for Sunday's final games at the SoCal Tournament. In Sunday's opening match Air Force was taking on No. 9 ranked Long Beach St. 49ers.

This would be a tough test for Air Force and the end result was Long Beach State getting a 13-7 win. Losing to Long Beach State is nothing to be ashamed of as they are ranked in the top 10, but what this game does is to show how close -- or far -- Air Force is to the top teams in the country.

Long Beach State is in the MPSF and are the worst team in that league, that is not real fair to say since Long Beach State is an excellent program. However, the MPSF owns the top nine spots in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 20 poll.

Up next for Air Force is their final game where they will take on the loser between Loyola Marymount or UC San Diego, both are WWPA teams, at 5:20 p.m. MT.

Air Force water polo: Falcons upset No. 12 UC Davis, 12-11

Air Force upset No. 12 UC Davis 12-11 at the SoCal tournament, and the win will guarantee the Falcons at worst a 12th place finish.

SoCal Tournament: Air Force no match for Cal, loses 22-4

The No. 14 ranked Air Force Falcons were hoping for a better showing when they faced No. 4 California Golden Bears 22-4. Cal just came out strong and rushed out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter, and the scored five goals in every quarter including six in the final frame.

Air Force just did not have the players to keep up with this high powered Cal offense, and goalie Mike Fish was unable to stop the barrage of shots that came his way. Air Force attacker Kevin Womack led the way as he scored pair of goals for the Falcons.

With this being the second game against Cal, it was thought that Air Force would be able to at least have a better showing this time around. That obviously was not the case as Cal is looking very, very good

Air Force's second game is against No. 12 UC Davis. Davis also lost their first round match as they fell to No. 5 ranked UC Irvine 11-6.

SoCal Tournament: Air Force water polo looking for a big win

No. 14 ranked Air Force will take on No. 4 ranked Cal in their opening game of the 2012 SoCal tournament.

Water polo rankings, Week 4: Air Force remains at No. 14

The Air Force Falcons were off last week, and they remained at No. 14 in the latest water polo polls.

Air Force Goalie Mike Fish Named WWPA Player Of The Week

For the second week in a row an Air Force Falcons player was named the WWPA player of the week. Last week it was attacker Josh Stedman who was named co-player of the week. This week Falcons goalie Mike Fish earned the award all to himself after having an amazing set of games at the NorCal Invitational, and this was Fish's first time to earn the award.

Fish had 63 saves in four games, and he helped the team go 2-2 and finish 13th at the NorCal Invitational which was the schools highest ever finish at the tournament.

Against Cal, Fish had 14 saves just over three quarter of play, then he had a season-high 20 saves in a sudden death over time loss to No. 11 UC San Diego. Then in their two wins, Fish had 17 saves against Concordia and 12 in an upset win over Santa Clara.

Fish is having a great season so far with 109 total saves which is 13.63 on the season.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

Water Polo Rankings Week 3: Air Force Climbs To No. 14

The Air Force Falcons moved up two spots in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings to the No. 14 spot after going 2-2 at the NorCal Invitational. Air Force dropped games to then-No. 3 Cal and then a sudden death loss to No. 11 UC San Diego. Then they had wins against ranked teams Concordia College and then an upset win against Santa Clara who was No. 14 last week, and now No. 16.

Being ranked 14th puts Air Force as the second highest ranked non-California team, the other is the Brown Bears who jumped up to No. 13 after beating two ranked teams in St. Francis and Princeton this past weekend.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

NorCal Invitational Results: Air Force Defeats Concordia, Santa Clara

The No. 16 Air Force Falcons rebounded after losing a pair of games at the NorCal Invitational on the first day of the tournament, and on the second day the Falcons beat a pair of ranked teams. The first win on Sunday was against No. 18 Concordia College 10-8. Air Force raced out to a 3-0 first quarter lead, and they needed all of those goals as Concordia came back quickly.

Concordia outscored Air Force in the second quarter 3-2 to make it 5-2 at the half, and in the third quarter Concordia outscored Air Force 5-1 to take an 8-6 lead heading into the final quarter of the game. The Falcons offense and defense came back shutting out Concordia and scored four goals of their own to win 10-8.

In that game co-captain Brad Rajchel led the Falcons offense with three goals and two assists, and then goalie Mike Fish had 17 saves.

In the second game Air Force pulled off the upset against WWPA conference mate and No. 14 ranked Santa Clara 9-7. Air Force came back after trailing 3-1 after the first quarter, and the the Falcons went on a scoring run through the second and third quarters where they outscored Santa Clara 7-2. Heading into the final quarter Air Force led 8-5 lead, and they held off Santa Clara's comeback attempt.

The power play for Air Force was strong as they went 4-of-6 which helped them pull off the upset, and they were led in scoring by Cruz Smithson and Jantz Johnson who each scored pair of goals in this game. Fish had another great game in the cage with 12 saves.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

NorCal Invitational Result: Air Force Falls To UC San Diego In Double Overtime

The No. 16 ranked Air Force Falcons fell to conference foe No. 11 UC San Diego 8-7 in double overtime. The Falcons fell behind 2-0 after the first quarter, and then 4-2 at the half. The second half is when Air Force made their comeback as they outscored UC San Diego 5-3 in the second half to force overtime.

The overtime periods were a defensive struggle as neither team was able to score in two, three-minute extra frames. Then the game went into sudden death overtime period where UC San Diego senior Brian Roach scored his first goal of the season. The win for UC San Diego was their first of the season.

Air Force was led in scoring by Dillon Fisher and Josh Stedman who each had a pair of goals in the loss. Goalie Mike Fish had an amazing game as he blocked 20 UC San Diego shots. Despite the loss this is a good indicator that Air Force can hang with the best teams in conference play.

Next up for Air Force is No. 18 Concordia, the two will play at 10:25 a.m. MT.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

NorCal Invitational Results: No. 16 Air Force Falls To No. 3 Cal, 19-2

The No. 16 ranked Air Force Falcons took on No. 3 California Golden Bears for their first match at the 2012 NorCal Invitational, and as expected the Falcons fell to the Golden Beras. However Air Force was never in the game as they were crushed by Cal 19-2. Air Force was only able to get a pair of goals in this game, and they both came in the first half.

Cal's offense, and defense, was just too much as they rushed out to a 7-2 halftime lead, and they put the game away for good by leading 10-2 after three quarters. The fourth quarter was a surprise as Cal was able to put up nine goals in the final frame to make the game be a thorough beat down.

The two goals for Air Force came from sophomore attacker Jantz Johnson and senior Brad Rajchel. Goalie Mike Fish had trouble stopping Cal shots as hey only had four saves on the day.

Cal spread their scoring around as 10 different players were able to score.

With the loss, Air Force will now take on the loser between No. 6 UC Irvine and No. 11 UC San Diego, the game will take place at 7:15 p.m. MT on Saturday night.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

Air Force Will Get Tested At NorCal Invitational

The No. 16 ranked Air Force Falcons will be playing in a packed field at the NorCal Invitational at Stanford on Sept. 15 and 16. This tournament field boasts the top 12 ranked teams in the country, and 15 of the 16 teams are ranked. This will be a huge test for the Falcons to see where they stand nationally.

They did lose to Long Beach State last week, but this time they are facing even tougher competition in their opening round game. In their bracket they are joined by No. 3 ranked Cal, No. 6 Irvine and No. 11 San Diego.

Air Force will be matched up against No. 3 Cal, and that game could get ugly. Cal recently went to the East Coast and roughed up No. 13 Princeton 16-4 at home.

The two players for Air Force to watch against Cal are junior Collin Smith, who has a team-high 19 goals and eight assists on the season, while senior Marin Balarin has added 14 goals and seven assists.

The game against Cal is at 11:50 a.m. MT, and then they will play either Irvine or San Diego, depending on who wins and loses.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

College Water Polo Rankings, Week 2: Air Force Comes In At No. 16

The Week 2 college water polo rankings are out, and there were very little changes from last weeks rankings. The top 17 spots stay the same, and that includes the Air Force Falcons who remain at No. 16 after going 3-1 last week at the Inland Empire Classic. Air Force even received the same number of points as Week 2 with 26.

USC still claims the top spot, and is still the unanimous choice for the third straight poll. However, out of the WWPA teams the highest ranked schools is Loyola Marymount who is No. 9, then followed by UC-Davis who is No. 12 and finally Santa Clara is No. 14.

Here is the complete Week 2 poll:

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

Air Force Attacker Josh Stedman Earns WWPA Co-Player Of The Week

After going 3-1 at the Inland Empire Classic this past weekend, Air Force attacker Josh Stedman earned the Western Water Polo Association's co-player of the week, which he shared with Santa Clara's Tucker Carlson. This is Stedman's second player of the week award for his career, and this latest was well deserved. The three wins were against WWPA foes which put Ar Force at the top of the standings after just one week of play.

During Air Force's four-game stretch last weekend, Stedman led all Falcons players with 12 goals with a team-high six goals in Air Force's 15-8 victory over Chapman. Stedman also led the team with five steals plus he had an assist this past weekend.

The next games for Air Force will take place on Sept. 15 and 16 as they travel to Stanford to play in an extremely loaded NorCal Tournament field.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

Air Force Water Polo Results: Falcons Go 3-1 At Inland Empire Classic, Drops Game To Long Beach State

At the Inland Empire Classic the No. 16 ranked Air Force Falcons men's water polo team went 3-1, as expected, with their only loss coming in a 15-10 defeat by the hands of the No. 9 ranked Long Beach St. 49ers. The other three wins were conference games that came against Redlands, Chapman and Claremont-Mudd Scripps.

The opening game for Air Force was against Redlands who the Falcons easily defeated 13-8. In this game Air Force rushed out to a 5-2 lead after the first quarter and led 8-4 at the half, and never looked back. This game Air Force had just enough cushion to not let Redlands get back in this game.

Junior Andrew Hamilton led the Falcons in scoring with three goals on Saturday morning, but the scoring was evenly spread out as six other players had at least one goal. Goal keeper Mike Fish had a great weekend, and against Redlands he recorded 10 stops in just three periods of action.

Game 2 on Saturday was against Chapman with this result being near the same as the Falcons won 15-8. This was also a blowout from the start where Air Force scored five first quarter goals were up 8-4 at the half. Josh Stedman paced the Falcons with six goals in this game -- he would end up scoring 12 at the tournament.

The two games on Sunday were much closer as Air Force edged out Claremont-Mudd Scripps 8-7. This could have been a case of looking ahead to Long Beach State later in the day. Air Force struggled on their power play chances where they went 1-for-10 in the game, and had they even shot 40 percent the game would not have been close. Fish had another great game in the cage by stopping 11 shots in the narrow victory.

The gane that would challenge Air Force the most would be the final game of the tournament where they faced off against No. 9 Long Beach State out of the MPSF. Air Force fell behind very quickly from the get go where they trailed 4-1 after one period, and then were losing 7-3 at the half. The game was looking to be a blowout before Air Force made a huge run in the third quarter to get back in this game.

The Falcons converted both power play chances en route to scoring five goals in the quarter to only three for the 49ers. Air Force had a chance to score six goals in the quarter but they missed a huge opportunity when a 5-meter penalty shot was missed. Had Air Force made that early in the third quarter the game could have come down to the wire.

Heading into the fourth quarter Air Force trailed 10-8, but Long Beach State scored right away to push the lead back up to three goals. Stedman responded for Air Force to get back within two goals, but that is as close as Air Force would get. Long Beach State would outscore Air Force 4-1 over the last 5:31 in the game to defeat the Falcons 15-10.

Air Force was putting up a ton of shots against Long Beach State, but goalie Balint Meszaros came up huge and blocked 15 Falcons shots in their victory.

While it would have been good for Air Force to upset Long Beach State, the weekend tournament was a success as they are 3-0 in league play.

For more on Air Force sports head over to Mountain West Connection, and for more water polo news visit The Skip Shot.

Air Force Begins Season At Inland Empire Classic

The Air Force Falcons travel West to play in the Inland Empire Classic at Redlands and Claremont, Calif., to open up their 2012 season on Saturday Sept. 7. There is no easing into the season as their first three games are conference games and their final game on Sunday is against No. 9 ranked Long Beach State.

Play begins at 10 a,m. MT against conference mate Redlands who are 0-3 on the year after falling to Long Beach State, UC Irvine and Champan last weekend. Redlands are a Division III school, but still compete in the WWPA, and in the Division III ranks they are No. 3 in the country.

Their best player is goalie Tyler Abbott who had a strong weekend even though they went 0-3. In the WWPA preseason coaches poll they were projected to finish eighth.

The next game on Saturday for Air Force will also be a conference game, and will be against Chapman at 2:30 p.m. They are also a Division III program who are ranked fourth nationally, and are projected to finish 10th in the WWPA. They went 1-2 last week with their lone win being against Redland. The loses came against top ranked USC and No. 2 ranked UCLA.

The first game on Sunday is at 10 a.m. against Claremont and is the final conference game of the weekend. They should be the toughest league game against Air Force as Claremont is predicted to finish seventh in league play, and are ranked third in the Division III poll. So far they are 0-2 on the year with loses to Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara.

The final game is against No. 9 ranked Long Beach State at 2:45 p.m., and this will be the toughest match of the weekend. So far, Long Beach State is 2-0, but they were not challenged as they easily defeated UC-Irvine, Redlands and Chapman. Air Force will need to key in on Cal transfer Spencer White who scored five goals in his first game with Long Beach State, and had six overall.

College Water Polo Rankings, Week 1: Air Force Remains At No. 16

The Week 1 Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings are out, and not much has changed within the polls. The USC Trojans still hold down the top spot as a unanimous selection for the second straight week, in fact the top 11 spots were unchanged from the preseason rankings.

Air Force Water Polo: Falcons Look To Make Noise In WWPA In 2012

The Air Force Falcons are hoping to be a player in the Wester Water Polo Association this upcoming season.